Mending the Bear by Vanessa Devereaux Read Free Book Online

because she hadn’t. Well, not consciously.
But who knew how a lusty woman’s unconscious worked?
    He
wrapped both arms around her, allowing her to get a whiff of his aftershave and
something she thought smelled animal like. Maybe he had a dog and that was the
odor she was detecting.
    She
didn’t want to step back, step away from the comfort of his arms, but she knew
she had to or it would look like she’d done this intentionally and she didn’t
want him getting the wrong idea.
    “By
the way, how did you get in here?” she asked, bringing both her mind and
conversation back to the real world. “I’m pretty sure I locked all the doors.”
    “You
did, but I wanted to show you what can happen if someone knows how to pick
them. Just a few flicks here and there and a bad guy could be standing here
right now.”
    “You
mean like you?” She didn’t know why she said that because she didn’t think he
was bad, well, not unless being sexy was suddenly a crime.
    “You
think I’m bad?”
    “No,
it sort of slipped out.”
    “But
I could be and that’s the point I’m trying to make. What would you do if a man
broke in here and was standing right here looking you straight in the eye with
the intention of harming you?”
    He
made it sound so sinister and she began to tremble, but strangely it wasn’t
from fear, but anticipation of what he was going to do. He took another step
toward her.
    “What
if he wanted to… ” He stopped mid-sentence. “Kiss you.”
    Before she could ask him why would man want to break in her vet practice and kiss her,
his lips were already on hers. Should she push him away? Did she want to push
him away? Right now the answer was a definite no. This felt too damn good, his
minty breath tickling her lower lip, his muscular arms wrapped around her like
he was going to keep her safe and warm.
    She ran her fingers through his hair. His
gorgeous, thick locks. Was there nothing about this man that wasn’t pretty
amazing?
    Her stomach flipped, her pussy pulled, and
it made her remember her new rule. No falling for another good-looking guy who
would break her heart. Her husband had certainly done that.
    She pulled away with him looking her in
the eye.
    “I don’t think I could say there was anything
criminal about a guy who wanted to break his way in here and kiss you,” he
said.
    She tidied her hair with her hands and bit
her lip, hoping the kiss hadn’t smeared her pink lip gloss all around her
mouth.
    “You’re saying that I should get better
security?” she asked.
    “You should, but don’t worry too much
because I’m going to be around a lot watching all the businesses and making
sure everyone’s okay, including you.”
    The thought they’d she be seeing more of
him scared and excited her. Would she be able to control herself? She’d let him
kiss her. She would never have believed she’d give in so easily and to a man
less than forty-eight hours ago she was ready to kill for ruining her day.
    “Did you relock the front door? Because
I’m parked out back and that’s the way I go out.”
    “I sure did, but if you want to continue
parking out there, then I suggest more lighting so no one can lurk in the
bushes. Or I can lock up with you each night and escort you to your car.”
    “I’ll call an electrician and have more
lights installed, and maybe get the bush by the window removed.”
    “I can do that for you and I have a buddy
who does electrical work. I’ll give him a call in the morning. Now, if you want
to grab your stuff, I’ll see you to your car.”
    She had to get one thing clear.
    “About that kiss,” she began.
    “What about it? Don’t tell me you want a
goodnight kiss, too.”
    ****
    Ian armed the security system and then put
his hand on the small of Eve’s back as they headed out into the parking lot. He
never thought he’d say this about a human, but she was fun to tease, and a
pleasure to kiss. He almost couldn’t stop a grin from breaking out on his